President Trump, announced a plan to give Americans tariff dividends, which could cost the government hundreds of billions of dollars.
(Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)
President Donald Trump is sticking with his plan to give Americans a tariff dividend refund in 2026.
Trump discussed the potential checks in a two-hour-plus Cabinet meeting on Dec. 2, during which he also called the “affordability” issue a “Democrat scam,” and appeared to nod off.
“Next year is projected to be the largest tax refund season ever, and we’re going to be giving back refunds out of the tariffs, as we have taken in literally trillions of dollars,” Trump said early in the meeting. “We’re going to be giving a nice dividend to the people in addition to reducing debt.”
Tariff revenue could eventually be “so great,” Trump said, that the government could cease levying income taxes. “Whether you get rid of it or just keep it around for fun or have it really low, much lower than it is now, but you will not be paying income taxes,” he said.
As for projected tariff revenue, the Congressional Budget Office on Nov. 15 reduced its projections from $3.3 trillion in tariff revenue over the next decade to $2.5 trillion. That would result in an additional $500 billion in debt interest payments, for a total of $3 trillion in value to the government.
But critics of the administration’s tariff plan question whether the dividend refunds make good economic sense, in part, because tariff revenue is uncertain – and refunds would be costly.
